Danbury Police Officer Ricard DeJesus stops a car on West Street Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Major crime dropped 18 percent in Danbury last year from 2012, and the total number of major crimes was as a 20-year low, according to a statewide report. less

Danbury Police Officer Ricard DeJesus stops a car on West Street Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Major crime dropped 18 percent in Danbury last year from 2012, and the total number of major crimes was as a 20-year low, ... more

An FBI report released last week shows that crime continues to decrease in the Danbury area, as it has across the state and country. In fact, one expert described the region’s recent experience as an “almost mirror image” of most American towns.

“These are remarkably low numbers,” said James McCabe, chairman of Sacred Heart University’s criminal justice department. “Even in Danbury, the numbers are so small that a couple of extra crimes will change the overall rate, but there’s really nothing to worry about.”

In 2014, Connecticut had the nation’s fourth-biggest decrease in violent crime — 9.7 percent — according to the report, which was released Monday. The FBI describes violent crime as murder and non-negligent homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults.

Bethel, Brookfield, Redding and Ridgefield recorded fewer than five violent crimes in 2014, the report shows.

And while Danbury showed an upward blip in both violent and property crime, Police Chief Al Baker said there’s no reason for concern, especially considering how much crime other Connecticut cities experienced.

“If a group commits a series of robberies in a month, that skews the numbers,” Baker said. “An average increase of two or three more violent crimes a month does not represent a major problem, because each year is different.”

Danbury, with a population of 85,000, reported 150 violent crimes in 2014, up from 108 the previous year.

But Waterbury, with about 25,000 more residents, had 408 violent crimes, and Bridgeport, with nearly 150,000 residents, reported almost nine times more violent crimes than Danbury — 1,338.

Bethel Police Chief Jeffrey Finch said the FBI’s annual crime reports are good “guidelines” but must be used with caution, because not every police department reports data to the FBI and that the federal agency doesn’t always audit the numbers.

“They show the general temperature, so to speak, of the nation,” Finch said. “They also show how crime moves at different rates in different areas.”

The FBI report does not include individual crime rates from towns like New Fairfield and Southbury, which take part in the resident state troopers program.

Property crimes, which include burglary, theft and arson, also are down in the Danbury area. Bethel had the region’s biggest two-year decrease in property crimes — dropping from 321 to 164 since 2012, according to the report.

Overall crime in the state last year was actually the lowest since 1967, state officials said.

In a news conference on Monday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy credited the low crime rate to criminal justice reforms over the last four years, including provision of housing opportunities for the homeless and ex-convicts.

McCabe said that government policies do help reduce crime, but there are many other possible factors, including demographic changes.

“The population is getting older, and older people are less violent,” he said. “Alcohol and drug consumption has changed. When people use less drugs and alcohol, crime is going to go down.”